Norris and all Americans currently live under the "Rushdie Rules," which punish whoever disrespects Islam, Muhammad, or the Koran. Make fun of Muhammad and you're on your own. Local and national politicians had nothing to say about her plight. Journalists, usually keen to protect one of their own, went silent. No organization sprung up to raise money for her protection.

Over the years, ALLAH and KORAN have been answers in the NYT crossword puzzle, with clues like “Moslem deity” and “Moslem holy book” which maintain an objective distance. In fact, I’ve wondered at times why ALLAH as an answer to an infidel puzzle hasn’t met with protest. Under the radar, I guess.

Today I was given pause for thought when I encountered the clue in the 10/5/2010 NYT crossword puzzle, 59 Across: “Book of divine guidance” ( Ans: KORAN. ). See? No qualification. No objective distance. I found it disturbing ... but hey! It’s just a puzzle! Pay no mind!

SNIPPET: “The topic opens with South Park, an iconoclastic adult cartoon program on Comedy Central, which in April mocked the prohibition on depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad. An obscure website, RevolutionMuslim.com (whose proprietor was subsequently arrested on terrorism-related charges), responded by threatening the show’s writers, Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Panicked, Comedy Central censored further mention of Muhammad.

Enter Molly Norris, a cartoonist at the Seattle Weekly, who showed solidarity with Parker and Stone by posting a facetious “Everyone Draw Muhammad Day” appeal on Facebook, hoping that a host of caricaturists would “counter Comedy Central’s message about feeling afraid.” To Norris’ surprise, dismay, and confusion, others took her idea seriously, prompting Facebook campaigns for and against her “day” and the Pakistani government temporarily to block Facebook. Norris disowned her initiative, apologized for it, and even befriended the local Council on American-Islamic Relations representative, to little avail.

Anwar al-Awlaki, an Islamist leader in Yemen, responded in July by issuing a death sentence on Norris, inaccurately but pungently called a fatwa. On consulting with the police, Norris in September not only went underground but “went ghost” and disappeared entirely, including her name and her profession.””

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